NIH requests disclosure of “Other Support” as part of its Just-in-Time procedures and in annual research performance progress reports (RPPR). Effective January 25, 2022, NIH will require use of a revised Other Support Format, as described in its March 2021 Notice NOT-OD-21-073 and NOT-OD-21-110. However, NIH is encouraging applicants and recipients to use the updated Other Support format for applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) Reports, and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) as of May 25, 2021.
Updated Other Support resources, including FAQs and sample Other Support format pages can be found here. The Other Support Format changes include the following.
Supporting Documentation for Foreign Appointments/Employment: For Other Support submissions that include foreign activities and resources, the University is required to submit copies of contracts, grants or any other agreements specific to senior/key personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution as supporting documentation. NIH has indicated they will review the documents to confirm that all information provided in the Other Support submission is accurate and complete. If the documents are not in English, the University must provide translated copies (machine-read translations are acceptable).
Certification that Other Support Disclosures are Accurate and Complete: Each individual form will need to be electronically signed by the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel each time the form is submitted to the NIH. The original electronic signature must be made available to NIH upon request. NIH has indicated e-signatures will be integrated into their forms starting in 2022. Until then, signatories should use DocuSign or Adobe Acrobat to apply their own e-signature to the form.
Please contact any staff member in URA if you have questions about these requirements or the NIH reporting obligations more generally and check this website for up-to-date information. Accurate and timely Other Support disclosure is critical as NIH requires immediate notification of the cognizant GMS once the University knows that a PI or other Senior/Key personnel on an active NIH grant failed to timely disclose Other Support information outside of Just-in-Time or the RPPR, as applicable.
The NIH describes “Other support” very broadly, to include “all resources made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant. This includes resource and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, including but not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel, and provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemical, model systems, technology, etc.).” Institutional resources, such as core facilities or shared equipment that are made broadly available, should not be included in Other Support, but rather listed under Facilities and Other Resources.
Other Support does not include training awards, prizes, or gifts, with gifts described as “resources provided where there is no expectation of anything (e.g. time, services, specific research activities, money, etc.) in return.” NIH does not consider an item or service given with the expectation of an associated time commitment to be a gift and instead views this as an in-kind contribution that must be reported as Other Support.
While the following list is not inclusive of all “Other Support”, investigators should be particularly mindful of the following types of relationships and report them.